I was recently booked to be the after dinner entertainment & speaker at a church meal. It was great fun and I fully enjoyed myself. The evening was structured so that I did a 10 minute slot before the food and then a 50 minute slot after the food.
After my first 10 minute slot I took off my jacket and left it with a few props ready in my dressing room ready so that I could prepare a few minutes before going back on stage. So I then sat down with a group of lovely people that were to be part of my audience and ate some well made lasagne followed by a delicious pudding. All good preparation for my show.
All was well until I heard the voice…’LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, IT IS NOW TIME TO ANNOUNCE….’
I got up out of my seat with a mouthful of pudding and ran to my dressing room, which in this venue, meant that I had to embarrassingly run across the performance space and down a corridor. (Highly unprofessional!) This was accompanied by a small chuckle from various members of the audience.
On reaching the dressing room door, he finished his sentence…
‘….THAT SECONDS ARE AVAILABLE’
I slowly and casually walked back to my seat as everyone laughed at my expense.
I wonder how often we jump to conclusions. Finishing the sentence ourselves if you like. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I believe that many people have jumped to the conclusion of their thoughts & opinions of God. Many have finished the conversation before hearing the truth.
Maybe they’ve got the wrong idea from past experiences, the media’s negative slant or the influence of others.
When I took a moment to explore who God really was – I soon discovered that God values us even when we fail. This God wants us to live life at it’s best, life as an adventure. This God knows us at our strongest and at our weakest. This God can change lives, change situations and attitudes. This God was willing to suffer so that we might have a friendship with him. This God puts us before himself.
I guess this leads us to a question of ‘What is my response?’
Listen – Why not start to do a bit of investigating. Ask someone of faith about it. Try visiting a couple of active churches in the area and see what you think?
If you want to know more. Let me know. I’d love to chat more with anyone who is interested.
If you have enjoyed reading this post – I’d be really grateful if you would help get this message further by sharing it on your facebook / twitter profile. Cheers 🙂
Life on Overflow 
Thanks Tom. God indeed does love us even when we fail. How often it is that He turns our failure into His success.
As for going to a lively church, I don’t mind but for me it’s more about a church with LIFE than merely LIVELY. I’m guessing you have a certain audience in mind but they are wiser than you think!
Cheers Dave!